Spotlight On: The 10 Most Common Pallet Racking Systems

This article, written by Mal Walker, Manager at Logistics Bureau, was first published in the March / April 2018 issue of MHD Supply Chain Solutions.

Pallet racking systems pervade the logistics landscape.

Scattered across the country in distribution centres, sheds and stores, racking fixtures of all shapes and sizes store goods for our nation. But, if you look carefully you will see that not all racking systems are the same. For those in the industry this is well known, but for the novice, it’s not so easy to spot the differences, let alone understand why you would use one type of racking versus another.

To help understand what types of racking are available, when to use them, and when to avoid them, I briefly list each type below with an explanation, estimate of utilisation and an indicative budget price to purchase (exclusive of GST). There is a sketch of each as well to assist in seeing how they operate.

There are additional types of storage racking and order picking equipment. These will be outlined in subsequent issues.

The author wishes to thank racking suppliers Schaefer and APC who advised budget prices for each racking more.

1. Racking Mode: Selective

Features

Clear Aisles of 3 to 3.4m for reach trucks or 3.5 to 4.5m for counter balanced fork lifts.

Supports First in First Out (FIFO)

Most common mode of racking

Unfettered access to any pallet

Allows order picking at lower levels

Storage Utilisation: 90%

I.e. for every 100 pallet places available, you can fill 90.

When do you use it?

Where you have a relatively low number of pallets per SKU

When you want totally free access to any pallet, any time

When you need to pick from pallets at lower levels

When not to use it?

When you have a high number of pallets per SKU and you are constrained for space

When you need to pick from more pallets than the lower level pick face will allow

Budget Price: $46-60 per pallet

2. Racking Mode: Push Back Racking

Features

Clear aisles of 3 to 3.4m

First in last out (FILO) for each slot

Can be three or four pallets deep, but commonly only two pallets deep

Pallets are pushed back from aisle by fork lift trucks

Pallets are placed on low friction carts

Used for full pallet storage only

Forklift drivers need to be careful when loading in an out to avoid pallet damage

Utilisation: 85-90%

When do you use it?

When you have more pallets per SKU and want to gain greater storage density

When order picking is not required from pallets within push back racking

When not to use it?

When you need to perform order picking from pallets

When pallets are accessed frequently for picking and are then put away again

Where pallet to pallet contact is can cause damage to stock

Budget Price: $275-295 per pallet

3. Racking Mode: Double Deep Racking

Features

Clear aisle of 3.0 to 3.4m

FILO for each slot

Pallets at lower levels must be on beams, and guide rails are used at upper levels

Need a fork lift truck with extendable reach and camera to assist the operator

Generally used for placing two pallets of the same SKU in each double deep slot

Can be serviced by reach and counterbalanced fork lift tricks and order picking machines

Storage Utilisation: 85-90%

When do you use it?

When you have more pallets per SKU

When greater storage density is required

When not to use it?

When you need to perform order picking from pallets

When pallets are accessed frequently for picking and are then put away again

When you have lots of SKUs with single pallets in stock

Budget Price: $55-65 per pallet

4. Racking Mode: Pallet Live Storage

Features

Clear aisle of 3.0 to 3.4m

FIFO for each lane

Pallets are placed on gravity roll tracks and move from entry to exit via gravitational pull

High use of cube

One lane per SKU

Separate load in and load out aisles

Full pallets only

Utilisation: 85-90%

When do you use it?

When you need FIFO Operation and stock is moving at relatively fast rate

When you have a high number of pallets per SKU

Where you need high space utilisation

When not to use it?

When you have few pallets per SKU

When you need to perform order picking

When you cannot tolerate pallets encountering others due to line pressure

When you cannot tolerate occasional snags caused by pallets stalling on the roll tracks

Budget Price: $400-420 per pallet

5. Racking Mode: Drive in Racking

Features:

Clear Aisles of 3 to 3.4m for reach trucks or 3.5 to 4.5m for counter balanced fork lifts

FILO for each ba

The fork lift drives down the lane of each racking bay to deposit or pick up pallets

Drive in racking emulates the operation of block stacking, but with the racking there is reduced damage to pallets and stacking can be higher

Can be up to 10 or 12 pallets deep and up 6 or 7 pallets high

Utilisation: 50-60%

When do you use it?

When FILO is not a problem

When you do not wish to mix SKUs within each bay/lane of drive in racking

When high density storage is required, (but be careful of the honeycomb effect) which reduces utilisation

When staging of received or picked goods is required in a high-density format

When not to use it?

Where order picking is required from pallets

When you are planning for greater than 60% space utilisation

Budget Price: $165-180 per pallet

6. Racking Mode: Narrow Aisle Racking (Turret Truck Operation)

Features

Clear aisle of 1.8 to 2.2m

Emulates characteristics of selective racking

Turret trucks retrieve and put away pallets from pick and deposit (P&D) stations at the end of each bay of racking

Turret trucks require wire or mechanical guidance down the length of each aisle

A separate forklift delivers and picks up pallets to and from the P&D stations

Order picking machines may pick from pallets, but not at the same time as turret trucks

Only one machine in an aisle at a time

Utilisation: 90%

When do you use it?

When you have a high SKUs with relatively small quantities per SKU

Where you want good space utilisation

When you have large amounts of goods moving and out

When you want to improve the storage density within your warehouse

When not to use it?

When you can’t afford to two machines operating

When you have limited budget

When you have a high movement velocity and need two machines working in the same aisle at the same time

5 Comments

I would like to thank you for sharing such an informative article regarding a different kind of pallet racking system. Selection of a suitable pallet racking system could be very helpful to increase the storage capacity of the warehouse. Apart from this, the pallet racking system needs regular maintenance to prevent any kind of accident. So, it is really necessary to inspect the condition of different components of the pallet racks at a regular interval and damaged components should be replaced with suitable substitutes.